Part of the Pack
by Lilchapman
Summary: I'd be the first to admit that walking into oncoming traffic was not the healthiest thing for me to do, especially since it kinda killed me. However it turns out that more forces are at play than just my poor life decisions. At least that's what I think, seeing as how I find that being reincarnated into a world of magical eyes, sad childhoods, and ninja probably isn't normal. SI/OC
1. Chapter 1: Not so new beginnings

In my relatively short twenty-one years of existence, I've learned that life has a pretty funny way knocking you through a loop. One minute you're a young, not so productive youth of society whose whole life is stretched out before them! Then in the next moment you're a smear decorating a stretch of pavement. At least, that's how it went for me.

To be fair to myself I had had a pretty good reason for walking into the street that day. See I'm not what you'd typically define as a "courageous and selfless guy". I'm rather normal in fact, something of which I take small pride in. I didn't go out of my way to save people, instead I sat in front of a computer in my room playing video games. I didn't have a huge group of friends, I had a smallish group that I rarely ventured out of. I didn't even have any really exciting life stories to tell, as I had spent the majority of my life under the radar watching anime, playing games and the like. I was a normal, non-extraordinary guy with a non-extraordinary life who valued little except himself, a select few others, and who had generally never done anything of notable importance. That is…until the fire nation attacked.

…sorry, couldn't help it. Anyway back to the matter at hand, my death.

It had been a day like any other, completely unremarkable in every way. I had just got off work at the hell hole I called a workplace, and was deciding on what to buy for dinner that night when a huge gust of wind decided it was a swell time to bitch slap me. Normally this would have just pissed me off slightly, but this time said gust of wind triggered something else in me, something unexpected. Fear. Because as it turned out, I wasn't the only victim of this act of nature. This fact proven by the falling, screaming little girl who just happened to fall off the sidewalk and smack dab in the middle of the traffic heavy road.

As I've stated repeatedly, I find myself to be quite average. So I was just as shocked as anyone else who'd known me when I jumped after the girl without a second thought. Maybe I just subconsciously wanted to be important for once, to actually influence the world around me. Or maybe I just have a soft spot for crying helpless little girls. Whatever the case may be, when I wrapped my arms around her and tossed her back onto the sidewalk I was relieved, as not a second later two tons of steel on sixteen wheels came barreling down the street. I was happy that for the first time in my life, I felt I had done something truly worth note. And then everything went black.

Maybe it was because of this selfless act of mine that I landed in my current predicament. You see, I'm not a very religious person, never have been. But even I had to begrudgingly admit that a god's influence was possibly the only way that this was actually happening to me. Because it's just common sense that when a person dies they stay dead. So color me surprised when I **FUCKING. WOKE. UP.**

I tried to look around, glance at my surroundings, only to realize that I couldn't see worth a damn. All I knew was that it was warm, cramped, and that I was scared out of mind and that I wanted out right this instant. Twisting, turning, punching, kicking, nothing was working. And what was worse, the already tight space was getting even tighter. I was going to get crushed to death only minutes after dying. It'd be an understatement to say that I panicked. Deciding to throw one last punch at the suffocating cage I was in I was pleasantly shocked when it actually seemed to work. The all-encompassing warmth was vanishing, being replaced with the slight chill of outside air. My surroundings were getting brighter, I started to hear noises, voices. Granted some of the voices sounded like their owners were in pain, but they were still voices! I was free! I survived! Hallelujah!

Feeling invigorated by my new found freedom I tried once again to open my eyes, finding that I had much more success as I could actually make out shapes. Blinking once again in another attempt to clear my vision I was able to make out what the previously mentioned shapes were. And my discovery made my heart drop. Are those…giants?

I had already suspended what logic I had when I died but apparently didn't, finding the concept of rebirth ludicrous enough for what should be possible. But giants?! What's next magic?!

After numerous failed attempts to come to grips with what I was seeing I finally noticed that one of the totally not possible giants was holding me and talking in a language that I couldn't understand.

"Dakara, kodomo no namae wa nanidesu ka?" said one of the giants, seemingly speaking to the one who was holding me

Do giants have their own vocabulary? I guess it would make sense, even though sense was in very short supply at the moment. But before my mind could start to frantically wander away on that train of thought the giant holding me finally said a word I could somewhat understand/remember.

"Ryota Nohara."

What's a Nohara again? I had heard that somewhere before I just knew It. Was it a place? An object? A person's...name?

It hit me like, oddly enough, two tons of steel on sixteen wheels. I had heard that word before, and it was a person's name. Only, it had been the last name of a character in one of my favorite anime, _Naruto_. But it wasn't just anyone's last name, no it was the last name of Rin Nohara, basically the catalyst for Obito's descent into madness and the character inadvertently responsible for both the Nine-Tails attack and the Fourth Great Shinobi War. But that was in an anime, right? That couldn't possibly be related to this.

However it was around this time that I looked up at the face of the giant holding me and happened to spy the sight of a very familiar blue cloth tied firmly across her brow. A familiar blue cloth with a metal plate, engraved with an even more familiar symbol. And no matter how long I looked at the engraved leaf on the she giant's forehead it just wouldn't disappear.

Well shit.

I was in the world of _Naruto_. Even more so I was in the Leaf Village. And as the she giant laid me down on a bed next to a crying baby with purple markings on its cheeks my circumstances finally came crashing down on me.

I was in the world of _Naruto_, I was in the Leaf Village, these people weren't giants, I was a baby, and worst of all I was the twin brother to none other than one Rin Nohara.

Needless to say, I passed right the fuck out.

* * *

A/N: So yeah this is my first attempt at a fan fiction. Actually this is my first attempt at writing in general. Hopefully people find it enjoyable. If no one does however i'll still write more chapters for this as exercising your writing skills is never a bad thing. On that note the next chapter should be up relatively soon, but thats a loose estimate as Im currently busy with High school.

Ciao!


	2. Chapter 2: Baby days

So as it turns out, being a baby is pretty fucking boring. I've probably slept more hours away these past few months than I ever did as a twenty something, a pretty depressing accomplishment as I was known for being rather lazy back then. I guess in my own defense my available options of what I could do inside of a baby's body was fairly limited to things like drooling, screaming, and shitting myself. Though I also did a good bit of mopping around too.

See for the first weeks of my new found babydom, I spent the majority of my time hosting my very own Great Gatsby style pity party. It was hard to come to terms with never seeing my family again along with my friends. I'd never get to talk to them again. I'd never walk past my neighbor's house in the morning and stop for a chat while purposely running late for work. I'd never confess my growing feelings for my coworker, Beth, and at the same time gain enough courage to quit the job I hated so much. My life as Christopher Anderson was over, and I didn't know how to accept that. Just thinking about it made me feel sick inside. Initially I thought that my rebirth was an unbelievable gift, some grace from some higher existence, but after a time I couldn't help but wish that it had never happened in the first place. That I'd never of died to begin with, and that I would have just stood there and let that girl die. And that thought made me feel all the more sicker.

I was like that for a long time, but eventually, I began to accept the current state of things. I chose to believe that I had done the right thing that day. Just like I chose to believe that my loved ones wouldn't have wanted me to waste away crying for myself, and that instead they would have wanted me to move on. So…I did. It took me a while but eventually, I did. Though it was a bit tougher than I anticipated. Because you see my first order of business was learning to understand the people of this world. And I found that learning Japanese was really, really hard.

At first I tried listening to every word people spoke around my crib and associate it with what they were doing. However I quickly discovered that this method was pretty shaky, as once somebody stumped their toe walking past me and muttered a few choice words. It would be a long time before I realized that chikusho meant something along the lines of "Oh shit!" instead of being the name for a person's foot. Personally, I found that I was much better at learning people's names. That and people were just more fun to watch in general.

I couldn't help it. Looking at the same walls and pieces of furniture day in and day out while mentally sounding out syllables was slowly killing me.

For example I learned that the man with purple tattoos adorning his somewhat feral looking face was named Atama and that he was also my Dad. He had a very leisurely gait about him, like he was content with everything in his immediate vicinity. When he would see Rin and I in our cribs he would gain a small, loving smile and just stand there and watch us like we were the most precious things since sliced bread. If not for the fact that when he hears a loud noise his hand automatically drops to the invisible kunai pouch on his hip, I never would have known he was a ninja. If I had been an actual baby I think his animalistic features would have frightened me, but to my mature brain, he just looked fucking cool. All in all, I really liked him.

I guess my thoughts were pretty easy to read because after he looked into my eyes for the first time, he grinned one of the biggest grins I'd ever seen and picked me up, yelling happily at the other person in the room who turned out to in fact be my Mom.

If I could describe Haru Nohara in one word, it would have to be unnerving. At first glance she appeared like one of the most gentle and loving mothers in the world. When she would pick Rin and I up, the look she gave us was so sweet, and so loving it practically gave me a toothache. It was through this quality of her that I couldn't help but start to grow attached to her. I mean who couldn't like such a sweet, lovable person? But then, at the drop of a hat, she could become one of the scariest, most frightening people I had ever met. Atama once made an offhand comment about the food she had prepared that night, cooking being an apparent sore spot for her, and his words were less than complementary. Haru had been holding me at the time so I got an unobstructed view of her face after he dug his own grave. It was serene, not violent in the least, peaceful even. But at the same time she radiated so much killing intent that it could make Orochimaru turn tail and slither away. It was terrifying.

My Dad ate dinner in the front yard that night. And many nights after that one. Hopefully sweet little Rin didn't inherit that.

Speaking of my last family member, Rin was somewhat of an anomaly for me. Unlike me she was just your everyday average baby. She might have been a quiet, calm baby, but she was a baby all the same. Yet there were times when I would catch her looking at me, smiling, and when my eyes would met hers I would get a deep seated feeling that she understood me. This made me feel both nervous, and at the same time comforted. I knew that she, as a baby, shouldn't possibly be able to grasp what was happening to me. I knew that Rin had been kind later in life, but the thought of that kindness already being present in her at such an extremely young age was almost unbelievable. Yet when I'd see her smiling at me from her own crib I couldn't help but smile back, due in part to the sudden warmth that would appear in my chest. Maybe she was just that nice, that even as a baby she could make a person feel better. I didn't know, maybe it was a sibling thing, or maybe I was just overthinking it entirely. Either way, whether she was the baby equivalent to a therapist or not, I found that I enjoyed having her around all the same.

My inner monologue was interrupted as I was jostled around by my Mother who was attempting to juggle me in one arm and reach across the table at my laughing Father with the other. He had Rin sitting in his lap and was telling her, from what my broken understanding of Japanese could make out, something similar to "Momma's cooking tastes like dead cat, doesn't it?" I had a feeling that he would never learn.

It was there that I realized that this happy, if somewhat crazy family had begun to firmly attach itself to my heart. Growing up in my previous world I could count on two hands and half a foot how many people I truly, truly cared about there. Yet here I was, surrounded by three people that were already well on their way to occupying the rest of that foot. It was also there that I decided that maybe being reborn as Ryota Nohara...wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

It took another couple of long months before my body had enough motor function to allow myself to crawl around without face planting. This new development made more excited than I could possibly handle. I could finally move around! Explore! Play! Be freeeeeeee!

This excitement was mirrored by my parents who soon set up a play area in our houses living room, almost reaching distance from Rin and I's cribs. The first time they let us both in, I'm pretty sure I just crawled around in a circle for a few minutes, too ecstatic at being able to actually move to do much else. But after I got that out of my system my next objective was clear in my mind. Find a reflective surface so I could see myself.

I had just began to start crawling again when all of a sudden a lot more weight than I could carry landed on me making me go splat against the living room carpet. After a brief few seconds of flailing about I turned to discover what had assaulted me, only for the entirety of my vision to be obscured by Rin's pudgy, smiling face. Thinking quickly I managed to wiggle myself out from under her, grabbed her light blue onesie with my strongest baby grip, and began to move forward again. She could come see herself too.

We must have looked like quite the caravan with Rin plotting around behind me, as we meandered about in search of a mirror of some kind. I had begun to lose hope after our second go around but something shiny in the corner of my eye got my attention. There was a silverfish colored bowl sitting outside of the pin, just within arm's reach.

My target acquired I made a beeline for it, Rin struggling to keep up with my new pace. I had just reached the edge of the pin wall, victory in my grasp, when out of left field a giant hand reached down and plucked it up before I had even got my hand through the little holes in the pins wall. Sullenly looking up at the culprit, I couldn't help be feel robbed.

Mom must have been able to since my frustration because after a single look at me and my pouting face she laughed softly and laid the bowl down beside to me.

By this point Rin had caught up and was now to my right on her stomach, looking at the bowl in wonder. I took this as my queue and peered into the surface of the bowl, trying to make out my appearance.

Similar to my father the little tuft of hair on my head was a darkish shade of brown, but with a few bits lighter than others. This odd mix of hues was most likely due to my Mother's own lighter brown hair. Moving on I examined my face discovering that, unlike Rin who got her face from our Mother, I had inherited my father's feral looks with my face already being more angular than the average child's. Both my cheeks had the same purple marks as Rin and my father. They must of gave them too me the day I was born, shortly after i passed out. I looked at my face tattoos a little longer, briefly wondering what the purpose of them where, before I moved on to my eyes. I instantly wished that I hadn't, because their appearance stopped me dead. Both my eyes were a hazel brown color, each seemingly getting darker and brighter when the light was right. A pair of perfectly natural, even pretty eyes. Only these eyes weren't eyes gotten from my new family. These were the eyes of Christopher Anderson, a dead twenty-one year old.

I immediately stopped looking at myself, backing up quickly away from the bowl like it had just burned me. I must have moved very unexpectedly because Rin sure was shocked when I suddenly vanished. Apparently during my self-inspection Rin had decided to snuggle up closer to me, leaning on me as she looked at herself in the bowl. So when her leaning block was so violently robbed of her she fell down with a small garble of surprise.

I felt a quick wave of guilt hit me and decided to crawl back to her. I offered my own baby burble of apology, and after a couple of moments of struggling I finally got her up off the floor and leaning against me again. Her look of confusion slowly morphed into a bright smile, and then without hesitation, she proceeded to flabbergast me. Slowly, with as much finesse as she could muster, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me.

There it was, that same weird warm feeling I got every time she would do something like this. Only this time, I realized, I could put a name to the warmth spreading through me. It was the warm feeling you get when you love someone unconditionally, and they love you back. All of a sudden that warm feeling wasn't so odd to me anymore. Rin Nohara was my twin, my sister, and I couldn't help but love her to pieces.

All thought of my former life left my noggin. All the lingering grief that I had subconsciously held onto started to recede. And as I enclosed my arms around her, and hugged her back, I felt unbelievably happy.

I may have lost my family once, but I had found a new one here.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I never noticed Mom and Dad taking a picture of us locked in each other's arms. Most normal folk caught in a similar situation, if they had noticed, would of gotten red in the face with embarrassment. But even if I had noticed, unlike the average person, I would have found it hard to care very much at that moment.

* * *

A/N: So...yeah. See when I said I would update soon, I kind of expected to update a lot later than the **DAY AFTER. **But...oh well haha

I had a lot of fun writing the first chapter yesterday so I decided to keep on writing today. So...here's chapter two! Also I do apologize for any grammar mistakes I make since I'm still learning, and I'm currently really tired at the moment of typing all of this. (School exams are a Bisnatch. And yes Bisnatch is a word...to me)

Oh and another thing, thanks to the people who have reviewed my story so far! I really appreciate any tips people can give me so don't be afraid to point out mistakes I make! (as long as it is done nicely that is) I'll try and correct any errors as soon as I'm made aware of them

Ciao!


	3. Chapter 3: Serendipity

"No, Ryota-chan. Now go to sleep."

"But Pa-"

"Ryota!" dad barked apparently at his wits end. His sudden tone shift caused me to flinch away from him in surprise, me not expecting him to yell. He noticed my reaction instantly, causing him to let out deep breath before he bent forward and hugged me.

"I'm sorry, it's late and I'm tired. So please, go to sleep."

Sighing somewhat dejectedly into his shoulder I mumbled a quick "Goodnight." Before heading off to Rin and I's shared room, posture slouched in obvious disappointment. Entering quietly, as not to wake Rin up, I silently tip toed back into my bed before laying down and proceeding to stare at the ceiling.

It had been close to two years since my epiphany inside the play pin, landing me roughly around the age of three and a couple of months. Back then, in that moment, I had felt truly happy. I had a family again, a group of people who would love and stick by me. And after losing all of that once before, it was impossible to explain how much I cherished every single one of them. But along with this happiness came a sudden paralyzing fear.

With me actively reading the manga and watching the anime I had a pretty good grasp of Naruto canon as a whole. So it was easy to say that, minus a few spotty patches here and there, I pretty much knew the future. Well, the future that hadn't included me that is. I knew that in that future Madara would twist Obito's world views, making him into an unstable killing machine. I knew that in that future a boy named Naruto would be born to two loving parents, and on that same night he would lose them while gaining burden too great for any one child to bear. And I knew that in that future, in order for all of that to happen, Rin would die. Hell Rin's family, my family, was never even mentioned in canon! I had no idea if either of them were actually alive in that future or if they had died in the war or even during the Nine-tails attack. In a few years, for all I knew, my entire family could be dead.

I found this completely unacceptable.

I knew, in my rational mind, that messing with the plot of the story could very well do more harm than good. That it might be in everyone's best interest if I just ignored my precognition and allowed key events to take place. Saving my family, going against what I knew, might just spell disaster in the long run. I knew that. Yet at the same time I couldn't bring myself to give a rat's ass.

Ever since I was born into this world I had a lingering feeling of uncertainty about it. Was all of this even real? Was I in just some prolonged coma dream from the semi-truck hitting me? I had no clue. But what I did know was that for the time being, and for the foreseeable future, I was here and I wasn't leaving. Whether this was real didn't matter, whether this was a dream didn't matter. What mattered was that I had found people here that were precious to me, and I'd be damned if I lost them. With that mindset firmly in place, I got to work.

I put double the amount of previous effort into learning how to speak Japanese after that. I was on a time limit, with around fourteen years left on the clock until that time was up. I was going to protect Rin, no I was going to protect my whole family. I'd need to be strong, at least strong enough to survive in the war that was approaching in the years to come. But in order to get that strength, I'd need to learn how to talk first.

It was grueling, and above all boring as all get out, but after months of continued effort, with only a few play breaks with Rin here and there, I did it. My Japanese may have been flawed, but it was understandable.

I think mom was less than pleasantly surprised when my first words were "Make" and "Stronger". Oddly enough Dad just looked proud.

However, it was a little after this that I hit a pretty substantial roadblock. How the hell was I supposed to train? It's not like I had much pre world fighting knowledge to fall back on with my history over the subject only extending to a period where I was obsessed over Street Fighter. And looking back through that period in my life, aside from making me want to shout Hadouken, didn't gain me anything. I didn't even have a teacher! At least that's what I thought at first, until I remembered that my family was made up of ninja. Ninja who loved me and who would probably agree to train for me if I just asked correctly. And even though I had never seen her fight I knew Mom was at least a Chunin by the green vest she sometimes wore. However, I had seen Dad train before. Once.

It was around my first birthday and Mom had had to go and buy supplies for the little party being hosting for Rin and me, leaving Dad to watch over us alone. After a couple of hours of sitting around doing nothing pop finally got bored enough to stand up and take the two of us outside with him while he trained.

Our house was on the smaller side with only about four main rooms not including the bath, however one thing we did have was a massive back yard, complete with training posts, targets, dummies, the works.

I had been curious to how he fought, as I knew he was a ninja, so I gave him my undivided attention as he finished bringing our cribs outside, laying us in them before he strolled over to one of the train posts. After a brief stretch he crouched low to the ground, hands in a claw like position, before he shot forward with blinding speed and proceeded to decimate the wood in such a way that it would give a chainsaw self-esteem issues. I had had already established him as cool in my brain, but watching him move around so agilely, and with so much strength as he tore chunks out of the poor piece of timber changed my opinion. Dad wasn't just cool, he was badass.

It was because of this memory of mine that Dad found me, his two year old, standing firmly in front of him demanding that he teach me how to fight. I had been planning on a more reserved approach, but a wave of nervousness had struck causing me to accidently shout my request at him.

When he looked at me, I saw something similar to pride flash across his face before a gentle, yet stern expression settled in over it.

He then shot down me down faster than The Road Runner with a machine gun.

"Ryota-chan, you're smart for your age, I get that." That had surprised me a bit. I hadn't really thought about my behavior much since being reincarnated, so I definitely didn't think about whether or not I had been acting weird around other people. Had I been acting oddly? In fact I thought that I managed to hit the normal infant milestones at a pretty sedate pace, but I guess it was a little strange for a two year old to already have a vocabulary like mine. And to already be asking for training. Oops.

Unaware of my thoughts briefly leaving the current conversation he continued on, saying "And as much as I would like to teach you, you're still too young for things like that. In time, maybe, but not now. Now go and play with your Sister. She looks lonely over there and she always seems happier when you're around."

After that he sent me off with a pat on the head, expecting that to be the end of it.

Unlucky for him, I was determined.

Unlucky for me, Dad was stubborn.

So from that moment on, every week or so, I would ask him again only to be repeatedly turned away. It went on like that for around a year or so with neither side budging an inch. It was also why I was currently cursing under my breath.

I was running out of time. It'd already been two years since I resolved myself to get stronger yet I was no closer than I had been back then. I knew that as a little munchkin I shouldn't expect much in terms of strength, but my current halt still aggravated me to no end.

Continuing to stare at the ceiling as if it held the answers to my problems I barely registered the rustling sound next to me until I felt someone else's body heat press up against my side. Without even looking over I automatically stretched my blanket over my beds new occupant before turning around to face her.

"Did I wake you up?" I asked, looking at the tiny form that was my sister as she wiggled herself further into my bed.

Rin said, "I was already up, Papa was loud."

I grimaced a bit at that. As much as I wanted to progress I still hated to make Dad upset.

There was a pause before Rin spoke up again, much more quietly than before, "Did you fight again?"

I nodded slowly at her. "He won't help me. He keeps telling me to wait." I huffed a little, turning back to stare at the ceiling again. "It makes me mad."

I felt Rin wrap herself around my arm in an attempt to snuggle closer to me. Rin was apparently a born cuddlier, as evidenced by the many times she would crawl into my bed when something would happen. I think she did this just as much to make others feel better, as she did it for herself.

''You and Papa need to be happy, not mad. That way no one yells anymore."

She may have been muffled but you'd have to be deaf not to hear the tint of sadness that her voice had. Rin had always been a happy child, wanting everyone around her to be smiling and laughing. The fact that I was the cause of her current demeanor made me feel like the biggest prick imaginable.

I enveloped Rin in my own hug, causing her to look up at me. "I'll make it better, I promise." Hearing the word promise Rin held out her little finger, giving me an expectant look. The smile that lit up her face when I put my pinky around hers and shook was so cute it made me want to grab her cheeks and making cooing sounds.

"Now that you shook, it has to happen!" said Rin with absolute certainty. She then let out a jaw popping yawn before looking at me again, this time noticeably more drowsy. Afterwards she laid he head on my chest, mumbling a barely coherent "Nighty night." Before falling off asleep.

After a spell I allowed my own eyes to close, realizing how tired I actually was. It had been wrong of me to nag Dad like had been doing, hoping to wear him down. I was so caught up in the idea of protecting everyone that I hadn't been paying attention to those I wanted to protect.

I'd apologize to Dad in the morning. To Dad and Mom.

With that in mind, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Chakra is a very strange thing. It's fused with everything from the air, to the water, to even people. It's intangible, yet its impact is able to be felt just by looking around you. It's instrumental to every living thing on this planet, ranging from ninja to simple plant life. It's like the little invisible tread that pieced everything in this world together. It's also what made me into a bedridden dolphin.

It turns out that as a foreigner to chakra, having spent the majority of my life without it, I could easily feel its presence both inside and outside of me if I focused hard enough. It was comparable to sitting in a misty room. It was just thick enough for me to notice, yet not enough to really bother me. I also discovered that if I would take what tiny fraction of my own chakra that I could control and meld it into the surrounding cloud, I could pull of some Daredevil grade shenanigans and "see" my surroundings via chakra sense. In a way it worked like a shittier version of echo location. Hence, me becoming a dolphin.

The bedridden part is a little more embarrassing.

After my apology to my folks, an apology they accepted without hesitation, I stopped asking for training. Instead, I opted to train by myself. Brilliant idea I know. I knew that as far as the physical side of things went, without a guide anyway, I was currently dead in the water. However, I still had something to practice with, that something being my chakra.

The fact that I had completely forgotten about chakra even being a thing until I suddenly remembered it, after trying to find something to practice alone, made me want to bash my head in with a brick.

However after hours of meditating, trying to discover just how to use chakra in the first place, I managed to find it. From there I began to experiment with it, which is what lead to me creating my Dolphin no Jutsu. Like any person discovering they had a super power I was overjoyed. And like a dumbass I forgot that chakra exhaustion was a thing and spammed the ever living shit out of it.

I think I gave mom a heart attack when she found me passed out, face on the floor, barely breathing.

Following that stunt I was required to stay in the hospital for a few days before they would let me go back home, as the restoring one's chakra to full capacity was apparently a lengthy process. The entire time I was there I got lectured by what felt like every adult in existence on how dangerous the use of chakra was at a young age. My mom, bless her heart, was just happy that I was alright and after adding in her own two cents proceeded to try and break me in half with an embrace that could only belong to a relieved mother. A teary eyed Rin decided that she needed in on this action, working her way up on the bed before inserting herself in the bear hug. I think Dad felt the peer pressure because he soon joined in as well, laying his arm around Rin and Mom while resting his palm a top my head. Ironically it was about this time that I felt like crap. I had done it again. Even when I tried to not be a burden to my family I still ended up making them all worry.

After we managed to untangle ourselves from each other visiting hours were almost over, causing my family to have to head on home. I waved goodbye as Mom led a pouting Rin out the door, and was about to turn over in my bed when a cough grabbed my attention. Turning back around to find the source of the noise I saw that Dad was still here, leaning against the door frame with an unreadable emotion flickering in his eyes. Dammit…he's going to chew me out again isn't he?

The silence in the room was thick and uncomfortable as I waited for him to say something. A couple more seconds went by before he actually made a noise, with him exhaling heavily before speaking. I braced myself.

"Fine."

….wait what?

"You know when you said you'd stop begging to be trained I thought that that meant you'd drop the matter entirely." Dad said in an even voice, studying my confused face for a moment before carrying on. "The reason I wanted you to wait was because I wanted to avoid you hurting yourself. But since it seems like you'll do that whether I'm there or not, fine. I'll train you."

I could almost feel my mouth unhinge. That…wasn't what I had expected.

"We'll start after you're discharged. That ok?"

Snapping my gaping maw shut I managed to shout out a loud "Yes sir!", earning me a smirk before he told me goodnight and left, shutting the door to the room behind him.

Leaning back against my pillow I let what just happened settle in. I did it. I was going to be trained by pop. It didn't happen the way I wanted sure, but he was still going to train me! I felt like doing a little victory dance to celebrate. I was another step closer. It was a small, barely noticeable step. But it was a step in the right direction all the same.

* * *

A/N: Third chapter is up! And its snowing! Er well..more like sleeting but good enough! Anyway thanks to those that have reviewed so far, I'm happy to know that people enjoy my writing :). Gives me the warm fuzzes inside.

Like always don't hesitate to point out mistakes, and have a good day/night!

Also, just noticed that the Nohara family is a very hug centric unit lol

Ciao!


	4. Chapter 4: Lessons learned

It felt like forever before I was finally let out. I was so excited that I had hardly slept the night before, opting instead to roll around in my bed restlessly until I finally just said screw it and got dressed. I was half tempted to mess with my chakra sense again, just to pass the time, but decided against it. The last thing I wanted was to prolong my stay here any longer than necessary, so I sat there patiently. It was around nine o'clock that morning when Mom and Rin showed up to get me, the sight of them getting me to grin excitedly.

Mom must have known the reason behind said grin because she let out a tired exhale at the sight of me. She helped me pack away my two days' worth of clothing before taking my right hand in her left, Rin already occupying the other, and walking us down to the check out.

Our house was situated inside one of the Leaf's outer lying districts, nearly on the completely opposite side of the village from the hospital, so the walk back was a long one. It wasn't a quiet one however, as seemingly only a minute after leaving Mom bopped me in the back of the head, earning a surprised yelp from me and a giggle out of Rin.

"It's always a Mother's worst fear to have to take her child to the hospital. However I thought if I ever did have to, it would be for a broken bone or something simple like that, not severe chakra depletion!" she followed this by giving me an accusing stare, making me shrink back a little, before she averted her gaze with a shake of her head.

"Do you even know what chakra is?" she asked with a lightly chiding tone.

From what I remembered, chakra was the combination of spiritual and physical energies. There was also latent chakra which could be found in the environment around you known as nature chakra, though if used recklessly it could turn you into a stone frog, however the hell that worked. That and of course chakra was also what allowed people to perform various forms of super ninja magical bullshit. In the end I chose to respond with "Sorta."

Mom then proceeded to tell me, and Rin by proxy, exactly everything that I already knew, explaining the spiritual and physical energies, its use, the chakra pathway system, etc. I had begun to tune her out, becoming bored of her impromptu Wikipedia entry almost immediately, until a hard poke to the cheek brought me back to reality.

"Huh?" I asked lamely, causing her to sigh before repeating herself.

"I was wondering if you wanted to know the results of what the doctor found out." She said with patience, waving the folder she had gotten from the receptionist in front of me to emphasize the question.

I froze before resuming my pace beside her. "They tested on me? Didn't they just give me my chakra back?"

"Yes," said Mom "but to do that they needed to know things like your average amount of chakra and things like that. So they ran a few tests on you."

Feeling something grab a hold of my sleeve I turned to see a fear filled Rin gripping it with both hands. "Mama did those people mess with Otouto? Did they make him weird?!" she asked, dread in her voice.

I was momentarily annoyed by her choice of wording, as after she found out that she was born a few seconds before me she insisted that I'm her little brother, but my annoyance quickly faded away as I saw her shaky little hands on my shirt. It was just like Rin to get so worked up over something small like this.

Mom laughed, "No Rin-chan, they didn't make him weird. They just did their job that's all." She followed this up by rubbing a now relieved Rin on the head comfortingly before rotating back toward me again.

"So, what do you want to do, Ryota-chan?"

Eh, why not. "I wanna know." I answered, curious about the results. She made a show of opening the folder and clearing her throat before actually reading.

"The patient is, upon outer inspection, a perfectly healthy boy with no notable deformities. However when excluding his physical health, he is quite simply not normal. This statement is made in relation to the nature of his chakra, as despite his lineage his spiritual energy is nearly at the same capacity as his physical energy. It's almost as if his spiritual chakra is aged several years while his physical is not. It is this oddity I suspect that leads to the rather abnormal amount of chakra he has."

I'm glad that Mom still had her sight obscured by the folder, because if she had looked up right then she would have seen me standing there with wide eyes and with a face as white a sheet. I had a pretty solid guess as to why my spiritual chakra was as it was, what with the nearly twenty-five year old soul currently housed within my body. I had thought that my reincarnation hadn't left any noticeable side effects, but I guess that assumption was wrong. I tried to recollect myself before she was finished reading, managing a barely passable job just as she finished.

"That would explain why it took them so long to refill your chakra to full. It's true that most kids don't have your amount until their older." She said to me, totally unaware of my poker face.

"Actually I've been meaning to ask you something Ryota-chan." Mom stated as we turned a corner, coming to a stop at some random flower shop that looked vaguely familiar to me. Mom had told me at the checkout that we needed to stop here on the way home, not telling me the reason. "You always asked to be trained, but you never told us why. Why do you want training so bad?"

The stretch of silence that followed her question made a worried frown appear on her lips. "Ryota-chan?"

I shuffled my feet awkwardly, looking down. I didn't want to say it out loud. How was I supposed to even begin explain that I wanted to protect them from the future? Why would a kid even worry about something like that at my age? On top of which it was embarrassing. But not saying anything would just worry her and Dad, something I wanted to avoid with a ten foot pole if I could.

Deciding to bite the preverbal bullet I quietly stated, "I wanted to protect my family." Accidently interrupting her right as she was about to speak again. I kept my head down, refusing to look at her when my face was such a deep red, and awaited the incoming barrage of questions.

"Do you remember the picture frame we have hanging in the living room? The one right next to the door?"

I looked up with no small amount of confusion at the unexpected question. What did that have to do with anything? The question was apparently rhetorical as she continued on without waiting for an answer.

"Do you know what it says?" she asked while bending down to pluck four flowers from one of the shops many potted gardens. I as a matter a fact didn't, because while my speech had improved tremendously, reading and writing still gave me trouble. I glanced at Rin who gave me a look that said she was just as lost as I was.

Mom said, "We Protect the Pack." After she paid the cashier for the plants she walked closer to the both of us before handing us each an identical flower. I examined mine closer. A camellia?

"That's the golden rule of our family. We protect each other, not matter what." She said to the two of us as she took our hands back in hers as we continued our way back home.

"So, because of that I've decided that I'm going to train you as well."

I nearly tripped over myself as I gave her a double take. She must have thought my flounder was amusing because the smile that had been on her face since handing us the flowers grew wider. "If you want to get stronger to protect us, then it's my job to support you as best as I can, however I can."

I made to respond to her but stopped at the appearance of a determined looking Rin, standing defiantly in front of us. "I want to train too! That way I can protect Papa, Mama, and Otouto too!" she emphasized her point by crossing her arms and staring at Mom.

I had been looking at Mom's face to see her reaction, but was shocked to see what looked like liquid glistening in her eyes. But as fast as it had been there it was gone, making me think I had just imagined it.

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a parent if I ignored one of my children. I'll help you too, Rin-chan." It might have still been my imagination but for a second she sounded a little thick.

My thoughts were halted by an unexpected shouting that came from way to close to my ear before a hand wrapped itself around my free one, pulling me away from Mom.

"Come on Otouto!" Rin yelled as she forcibly made me run just to keep up with her. "I'm going to ask Papa to help me too! So we can protect each other together!"

"Ok, ok but can you slow it down? I need this arm for stuff!" I exclaimed as she continued her sprint forward, grinning ear to ear the whole way like a Cheshire cat. I looked back, wondering if we should leave Mom just standing there, before realizing that I should probably concentrate on running as I nearly fell and ate dirt.

Unknown to Ryota and Rin, Haru finally let her tears fall when they were out of sight. "They really are our family, Atama. They really, really are." She said in a whispering voice, speaking to no one as she brought her hand up to dry her face.

* * *

Dad was waiting for us in the backyard when we made it home. It took a minute for Rin explain her plans to him, but when she finished he laughed briefly before agreeing, saying that it was only fair. After I put up my clothes, and very carefully laying my flower on my dresser, I rushed back outside, not wanting to delay the lesson I'd been so eagerly awaiting. Upon my return Dad made Rin and I follow him to the training posts before motioning for us to sit down.

"Before we get the show on the road I have a few thing I need to tell you two." He said as he squatted down into a cross legged position in front of us. "It has to do with your training, and our family so please listen ok?" At Rin and I's nods he pressed on.

"What I'm planning to teach is a clan style of fighting called Yabanken. However it's not ours, as it belongs to another family." He held his hand up in perfect time with the opening of Rin and I's mouths. "Before you ask, I didn't steal it, there's nothing wrong with me teaching it to you. See, it was given to me. By my own family."

At this Rin did manage to speak up. "But aren't we your family?" she asked quizzically, head tilted slightly. Dad smiled at this, saying "Yes, you both are. But I used to have a different family. One that taught me a lot."

"What happened to them?" I questioned when I saw my chance to interject.

He grimaced a bit, as if recalling something unpleasant. "I did something I wasn't supposed to. I broke a rule. So they decided they didn't want me anymore."

We both quieted down after that, sensing the change in mood.

"What I needed to tell you is this. If you both choose to be trained by me, what I teach you won't be finished. My old family uses something that we don't have to fight the way they do. So if I teach you, I want you both to know that the style won't be complete."

His Did I still want to be trained if it was half assed? If I was never able to reach the styles full potential? I considered it for all of two seconds before the answer was clear in my mind. Of course I did. Moving an inch is still better than not moving at all. It appeared that Rin got to the same conclusion that I did because we both ended up talking at the same time.

"We still want to learn!" we cried in unison, visibly stumping Dad. He recouped himself quickly though, smirking to himself before standing.

"Well then, if that's the case then let's get started!"

"Yosh!" we said, still in sync, as we got up to follow him to a more spacious area of the yard.

Once there Dad clapped his hands together. "Ok, so I've decided that we'll be training every other week day, with weekends as break. Your mother can have the days that we skip. That shouldn't be too bad, as knowing her I don't think she'll be teaching you guys anything to rough."

It still seemed like a pretty intense schedule, but oh well. It is what a asked for. Goodbye sleeping in in the morning.

"I'll first run you both through the style's beginner forms. I don't expect either of you to get this stuff down from the get go. In fact I think it'll take you awhile. But after you get that down we'll move on. Now, watch me."

We gave him our rapt attention as he slid down into a crouch, reminiscent to the one I saw him do years ago.

"This is the first kata of Yabanken in which every other attack starts from. You try."

We both crouched low, hands held like a claw with our right hand facing down and our left facing behind us. Our posture could only be written as clumsy compared to his but he seemed pleased with us.

"There you go! Now, on to the next step..."

* * *

Dad had us out there for what seemed like days, which in actuality was closer to only about three hours. After we got some semblance of the style's starting step we had moved on to basic movements, like charges and blocks. This wasn't too terrible at first, with the moves he had us doing not being that horribly exerting. Keywords there being at first as Dad then made us repeat those moves over, and over, and over again until we were reduced to sweating masses of child panting on the ground.

At some point during this Mom had made it back home and chose to watch us from the deck, making encouraging comments here and there.

It took Rin and I awhile before we had enough energy to move around again, having to lean against each other for support. I guess when you're not used to exercising, exercising can just so happen to be a bitch. It made me slightly envious of Dad as leaned against a post. Looking like he had just went out for a mild jog. Though for how tired I was I couldn't say that I was unhappy. It was moving me onward toward my goal, and on top of that I got to spend time with my family while doing so. I had been worried when Rin wanted to train too, both because unlike me she was normal, and also because I was a tad over protective. But as the session had gone on I felt a sense of relief wash over me. Maybe by getting her to train early on, something she probably hadn't done in canon, I could increase her chances later in life.

After we were in reasonable conditions again we followed Dad as he sauntered his way over to Mom, planting a giant kiss on her that lasted entirely too long to be comfortable once he reached her. My eyebrow twitched involuntarily.

After they were done being traumatizing Dad took the two other flowers that she had bought earlier, handling them delicately before addressing us. "You both did great today. You might just get it done faster than I thought at this rate." He said with an obviously affectionate tone while shaking us lightly by the shoulders, and even though I nearly keeled over from said shaking I couldn't help the swell of pride that rose in my chest. It doesn't matter how old you are, when a parent felt proud of you it just felt good.

Mom said, "You two better get some rest for tomorrow, because then it my turn. And I grade harsher than your Father does." This made Dad grab his chest in fake anguish.

"Are you saying that I, your sweet and lovable husband, am a bad t-"

"Yes." Mom deadpanned, interrupting Dad before he could even finish. If I looked hard enough I think I could make out a dark cloud floating over him as he hung his head his head in defeat.

"Anyway, I was going to say that you two should probably go eat dinner then head off bed. Your food is already ready for you in the kitchen." She sniffed the air rather loudly. "Also you should both take a bath."

The thought of soaking into a hot bath didn't sound too bad right now so I ambled my way to the back door, Rin falling in step behind me. But just as I made it, hand already in motion to open the door, I parked myself almost causing Rin to crash into me. Turning around I informed Rin that I'd be there in a jiffy before and running back toward our parents.

Both pivoted at the sound of my plodding footsteps heading their way. "What is it Ryota-chan?" inquired Mom as she bent to my eye level. Dad seemed mildly curious as well.

"Well," I said, hesitating temporarily. "I had another question I wanted to ask." At their combined head bob I pointed to my cheek. "Why do we have this purple marks on us?"

Mom faced Dad, the two having a silent battle over something. "Haru he's always been more mature than usual. He can know." Dad said finally. Mom raised herself up with a sigh, saying that Dad and I need to come inside soon, before making her way into the house.

After we were alone Dad made me jump as he hoisted me up out of now where, planting me firmly between his shoulder blades before heading for the tree line of the backyard. "Do you remember when I said I used to have another family?"

"Yeah"

"Well, that family is known throughout the village as the Inuzuka clan."

That…made a lot of since actually. Everything from Dad and I's appearance, to him teaching us Yabanken, to even his dead cat jokes fit together like parts to a puzzle. But from what I could remember about the Inuzuka, aside from their use of Ninken, was that they were extremely loyal. So what could Dad of done to break that loyalty? And on the previous note, where were his Ninken? Did the clan take them away or something?

"This is the mark they gave me after they kicked me out, for it's the tradition of the clan to mark those who break their cardinal rule." At his point his fingers had began to slowly trace his own tattoos. "But also as part of that tradition, my children had to inherit this mark as well. So the clan would know who they originated from." He peered over his shoulder at me guiltily. "I'm sorry."

I threaded my fingers through his hair in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. "It's alright, besides they look kind of cool." I said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. Thankfully it worked as I felt Dads guffaw reverberate through my entire body as he continued walking.

"That's true. Though I look better with them." He said in a teasing manner. I made sure he saw my pout, getting another laugh out of him.

I realized he had stopped moving at this point and looked around to see where we were. All around us were trees, forming a seemingly impenetrable wall around the small clearing we were occupying. But it wasn't the forestry that made me gasp as opposed to the two obvious graves resting at Dads feet. The graves had two headstones, both carved with a name I couldn't read without sounding it out. "Shiro…maru, and…Kiiro…maru?" I asked Dad questionably, unsure if what I said was correct.

Dad took me off his shoulders, carefully resting my feet on the ground before gazing at the graves again. "That's right. Their names were Shiromaru and Kiiromaru. They were my best friends." he spoke softly as he laid a white tulip, the flowers that mom had given him, in the middle of each mound of dirt.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered that the Inuzuka commonly named their Ninken after a color. Replaying the two names in my head I came to a realization. Kiiro and Shiro meant yellow and white respectively in Japanese. I felt a cold weight settle in my gut. These graves...they belonged to Dad's partners.

The clan hadn't taken them from him, death had.

I stood by him while solemnly looking at the headstones. Without thinking about I reached to take his hand with mine. His grip was tight, And trembling. I squeezed harder. We stayed like that for a moment until Dad shifted himself, now facing toward home, noticeably calmer.

"Come on, let's go back." He said as he pulled me toward him by my hand. "Besides, you really do stink. You smell worse than your mom's casserole."

At my indignant squawk he placed me back onto his shoulders before heading back the way we came, smirk firmly in place.

* * *

A/N: So I had planned to get this chapter up yesterday but health related things came up which prevented me from doing so. I also kinda deleted the entire chapter by accident once then had to retype it. Wasn't fun. So I apologize for the delay, please accept my tears as payment T-T

Also bonus points to those that know what floriography is and what the two flowers shown this chapter mean! Or you can just Google it. That works too.

Don't be shy to point out mistakes when you see them and have a good day/night!

Ciao!


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